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The adjalin is a type of zither native to Benin.
It consists of a rectangular form constructed of bamboo branches, tied together with raffia.
It is used in the traditional music of Benin, particularly in public festivals and rituals.
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Benin, officially the Republic of Benin and formerly known as Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east. The majority of its population lives on the small southern coastline of the Bight of Benin, part of the Gulf of Guinea in the northernmost tropical portion of the Atlantic Ocean. The capital of Benin is Porto-Novo, but the seat of government is in Cotonou, the country's largest city and economic capital. Benin covers an area of 114,763 square kilometres (44,310 sq mi) and its population in 2018 was estimated to be approximately 11.49 million. Benin is a tropical nation, highly dependent on agriculture, and is a large exporter of cotton and palm oil. Substantial employment and income arise from subsistence farming.
Benin City is the capital and largest city of Edo State in southern Nigeria. It is the fourth-largest city in Nigeria after Lagos, Kano and Ibadan, with a total population of 1,782,000 as of 2021. It is situated approximately 40 kilometres (25 mi) north of the Benin River and 320 kilometres (200 mi) by road east of Lagos. Benin City is the centre of Nigeria's rubber industry, and oil production is also a significant industry.
Benin is divided into 12 departments, and subdivided into 77 communes. In 1999, the previous six departments were each split into two halves, forming the current 12. Each of the six new departments was assigned a capital in 2008.
The Catholic Church in Benin is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome.
The Benin national football team, nicknamed Les Écureuils , represents Benin in men's international association football and is controlled by the Benin Football Federation. They were known as the Dahomey national football team until 1975, when Republic of Dahomey became Benin. They have never qualified for the World Cup, but have reached four African Nations Cup in recent years, never placing in the top 2 in the group stage – 2004, 2008, 2010 and 2019. In 2019, they reached the knockouts as the third most successful third place team, before making the quarter-finals with a shock win over Morocco, but later lost to Senegal. On 8 February 2010 after the preliminary competition from the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations in Angola, the Benin Football Federation dissolved the national team, coach Henri Dussuyer and his complete staff were fired. On May 9, 2016, Benin was suspended from FIFA, The team represents both FIFA and Confederation of African Football (CAF).
The Mid-Western Region was a division of Nigeria from 1963 to 1991, from 1976 being known as the Bendel state.
The Communist Party of Benin is a political party in Benin. PCB was founded in 1977 by the Union of Communists of Dahomey. The party was initially called Communist Party of Dahomey. The first secretary of the party is Pascal Fantodji. PCB publishes La Flamme.
The Benin Football Federation is the governing body of association football in Benin. It was founded in 1960, affiliated to CAF in 1963 and to FIFA in 1964. It organizes the national football leagues, including the Benin Premier League, and the national team.
Benin has sent athletes to every Summer Olympic Games held since 1980. Under its previous name of Dahomey, the country also competed in 1972. Despite appearing in twelve different Olympics, Benin has never won an Olympic medal. No athletes from Benin have competed in any Winter Olympic Games.
The Benin Davis Cup team represents Benin in Davis Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Fédération Beninoise de Lawn Tennis.
Association football, or soccer, is the most popular sport in Benin. Governed by the Benin Football Federation, the Benin national football team joined both FIFA and CAF in 1969 as Dahomey. Dahomey became Benin in 1975.
The Benin national rugby union team represents Benin in international rugby union. Benin is not a member of the International Rugby Board (IRB), and have yet to play in a Rugby World Cup tournament.
Benin–Russia relations is the relationship between the two countries, Benin and Russia.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and African Integration is the Benin government ministry which oversees the foreign relations of Benin.
Benin sent a delegation to compete at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, China. They were represented by one athlete, powerlifter Blandine Sahenou.
The Kingdom of Benin was a kingdom in what is now southern Nigeria. It has no historical relation to the modern nation-state of Benin, which was historically known as Dahomey from the 17th century until 1975. The Kingdom of Benin's capital was Edo, now known as Benin City in Edo state, Nigeria. The Benin Kingdom was "one of the oldest and most developed states in the coastal hinterland of West Africa". It was formed around the 11th century AD, and lasted until it was annexed by the British Empire in 1897.
Benin – China relations refers to the current and historical relationship between Benin and the People's Republic of China. Relations first established bilateral relations in November 1964. In January 1966, Benin recognized the Republic of China (Taiwan) and withdrew relations from the People's Republic. Benin and PR China reestablished relations in 1972 under the regime of Mathieu Kérékou in Benin. Benin and PR China regularly exchanged high level visits, with Kérékou personally visiting Beijing in 1976, 1986 and 1998. Relations have focused on commercial development. Since 1972, Benin has supported PR China's One China Policy.
Benin made its Paralympic Games début at the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney, sending a single representative to compete in athletics. The country has competed at every edition of the Summer Paralympics since then, but has never taken part in the Winter Paralympics. No competitor for Benin has ever won a medal.
Benin competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom from 27 July to 12 August 2012. This was the nation's tenth appearance at the Olympics, except the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal because of the African boycott.
Benin–India relations refers to the bilateral ties between the Republic of India and the Republic of Benin.